West Regional Bracket Breakdown - Memphis will be Top Dog

The NCAAB Tournament begins this week. The Big East has secured three of the four number one seeds. One of those teams that secured a number one, the Connecticut Huskies, will try to win the West Regional.

That’s somewhat strange since Connecticut isn’t even close to being a team from the west. But it speaks to the strength of the Big East this year that Connecticut gets the number one seed out west instead of a team that plays on the west coast.

Get the BetUS March Madness Bracket Here!

Connecticut has been made the favorite to win the West Regional in the BetUS sportsbook.

1. Connecticut Huskies +145 - - The Connecticut Huskies are lucky to get a number one seed after losing to Pittsburgh twice this season and to Syracuse in the Big East Conference Tournament. Connecticut is a good team, but they have a few things going against them in this region. First, they will have to play outside of their comfort zone, and time zone, because they have to play in Arizona. Second, they will most likely have to face either Memphis or Missouri in the Elite Eight. That’s gong to be tough because both Memphis and Missouri match up well with UConn.

2. Memphis Tigers +220 - - Memphis feels that they should have gotten a number one seed. Hey, some gamblers feel that way as well, but knowing John Calipari, he’s going to have his team gunning to take down everyone in the West Region to prove how good the Tigers really are. This is an excellent team. They are fantastic defensively, routinely keeping their opponents to less than 50 points a game and have no problem playing on the road. They dominated the Gonzaga Bulldogs on the road by 18 points. They haven’t lost a game since before Christmas of 2008. This team is going to be tough.

3. Missouri Tigers +500 - - Missouri won the Big 12 Conference Tournament Championship, have beaten Oklahoma and Kansas this season, and are on a roll going into March Madness. They should have no problem getting into the Sweet 16 and a potential showdown with Memphis. If that happens, Missouri actually has a good shot to upset the more highly touted Memphis Tigers. Missouri can run with almost anyone in the nation.

4. Washington Huskies +1000 - - It’s not that Washington doesn’t deserve a four seed, it’s just that the Pac-10 wasn’t nearly as strong this season as it has been in the past. The Huskies are a good team, but they don’t have the toughness that Memphis, Missouri and UConn possess, and they haven’t been battle tested like either Missouri or UConn. Washington lost by almost 20 points to Kansas. They lost to Florida and they lost to Portland this season. Those are three bad non-conference losses.

Best Long Shots

Purdue Boilermakers +700 - - Purdue is going to be a tough team to beat in the West Regional. They just won the Big Ten Conference Tournament and play the sort of style that could really hurt teams like Washington, Missouri, Memphis and Connecticut. Want to slow the game down against Purdue? No worries. The Boilermakers will play that style, or they will run with you. Purdue could be one of the best upset wagers of the tournament.

March Madness success.

And the Winner is…

Memphis Tigers +220 - - The odds on Memphis are excellent. If bettors have any doubts about this team, put them aside. Sure, they beat up on Conference USA foes, but Coach John Calipari is one of the best in the nation at getting teams ready for March Madness and the Tigers have been unstoppable defensively. It’s difficult to score against this team while they’re very good at putting the ball in the basket. Memphis will be playing with a chip on their shoulder in this tournament because of the snub. Watch out.